Cells (e.g., cultured cells, explanted tissue samples) can be incubated in a variety of media and exposed to a variety of conditions (e.g., temperature, dissolved gas levels, radiation, humidity, added substances, electrical or magnetic fields, viruses, microorganisms) in order to assess the response of the cells to the applied conditions. The response of the cells to the applied conditions can be measured in order to assess the efficacy of a drug or treatment, to assess the toxicity of a substance (e.g., of an experimental drug or treatment), to investigate the effect of a genetic modification of the cells, to investigate the metabolomics, structure, or other properties of the cells and/or tissue formed therefrom, or to determine some other information. This assessment can include removing the sample from the incubator and imaging it (for example, using a fluorescence microscope or some other imaging apparatus). This imaging can include the addition of contrast agents or chemical reagents that may result in destruction of the sample. However, this method perturbs the sample being imaged, thus requiring multiple sets of samples to be incubated, for respective different time durations, in order to assess the response of the population of samples over time.